N. Korea refuses to answer S. Korea's hotline calls for 2nd day

North Korea did not answer South Korea's phone calls via liaison and military hotlines for the second consecutive day Wednesday, officials said, as Pyongyang is ramping up criticism against the South for going ahead with its summertime exercise with the United States. The calls via the inter-Korean liaison office and military communication channels in the eastern and western border regions went unanswered at 9 a.m., after the North began to shun their regular calls from Tuesday afternoon, accor

Aug. 11, 2021

N. Korea says it will make S. Korea, US feel serious security crisis every minute

North Korea on Wednesday slammed South Korea and the United States again for going ahead with its joint military exercise, warning it will make the allies feel a serious security crisis every minute. Kim Yong-chol, head of the North's United Front Department handling inter-Korean affairs, made the remarks in a statement carried by the official Korean Central News Agency, saying the South Korean authorities have defied the opportunity to make a turn in relations. The denouncement comes just a d

Aug. 11, 2021

NK refuses to answer calls from S. Korea in apparent protest against military drills

North Korea did not answer daily phone calls from South Korea via liaison and military hotlines on Tuesday afternoon, hours after the sister of the North’s leader Kim Jong-un blasted Seoul and Washington for going ahead with combined military exercises.  The inter-Korean communication lines -- the liaison hotline and the military channels in the eastern and western border regions -- were in normal operation until the morning but the afternoon calls went unanswered, officials said.&n

Aug. 10, 2021

High hopes for papal visit to North Korea

South Korea’s budding efforts to resume diplomacy with North Korea are once again fanning expectations for a visit to the reclusive country by Pope Francis. Since the recent reopening of the direct hotlines connecting the two Koreas, officials are reviewing a slew of ideas to expedite inter-Korean talks such as setting up a virtual conference system or holding a family reunion event during the Chuseok holidays in September. Renewed attention is also being paid to the possibilit

Aug. 10, 2021

After NK warning, South on watch for response to drills

The presidential office is monitoring North Korea for a further reaction to the South Korea-US military exercises as the four-day preliminary drills took off Tuesday, a senior Cheong Wa Dae official said in response to Pyongyang’s accusation earlier in the day that the drills threatened peace. Previously the Defense and Unification ministries had communicated with their North Korean counterparts by phone twice a day, but the North did not respond to a call from the South on Tuesday a

Aug. 10, 2021

Inter-Korean communication channels in normal operation despite NK threats

Inter-Korean communication lines were in normal operation Tuesday despite an angry statement that North Korea issued against joint military exercises between South Korea and the United States, officials said. Kim Yo-jong, sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, issued the statement expressing "deep regret" to South Korea for going ahead with the exercise with the US after she warned earlier that the maneuvers will cloud inter-Korean relations. Despite the statement, the two Koreas

Aug. 10, 2021

Countries welcome restoration of inter-Korean communication lines at ASEAN meetings

Countries have welcomed the restoration of inter-Korean communication lines in their joint statements adopted after a series of multilateral meetings led by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations last week, South Korea's foreign ministry said Monday.  Such phrases were included in all four chairman's statements from the ministerial meetings of South Korea-ASEAN, the East Asia Summit, ASEAN plus its three Northeast Asian dialogue partners -- South Korea, China and Japan -- and the

Aug. 9, 2021

Activists received $20,000 from NK agents

Civic activists detained last week for allegedly receiving orders from Pyongyang to organize protests against the purchase of F-35A stealth fighters from the US had received at least $20,000 from North Korean agents for their operation, warrant applications by the authorities showed. The National Intelligence Service and the police searched the homes of four activists in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province, in May and found USB flash drives containing encrypted files of orders and reports they

Aug. 9, 2021

South Korea weighing all possibilities to help flood-hit North Korea: ministry

South Korea’s Unification Ministry said Monday that it would explore all possible ways to help relief efforts in North Korea’s flood-hit eastern regions. “We will leave all the possibilities open, including cooperation through state and civilian channels and international organizations, and then come up with concrete cooperative measures,” ministry spokesperson Lee Jong-joo told reporters. “Our basic stance is that humanitarian cooperation between the two Koreas

Aug. 9, 2021

S. Korea to explore all possibilities of helping NK with recovery from flood damage: unification ministry

South Korea will try to help North Korea with recovery efforts in a flood-hit eastern province while leaving all possibilities open as to how to provide assistance, the unification ministry said Monday. The remark came a day after North Korean state media reported that leader Kim Jong-un ordered full state support for recovery efforts in South Hamgyong Province, hit hard by recent heavy downpours, and that the country held an emergency meeting of the provincial military commission to discuss re

Aug. 9, 2021

Seoul, Washington eye aid to engage Pyongyang

South Korea and the US are discussing the possibility of offering humanitarian assistance to North Korea as a way to engage the recalcitrant regime, but it remains to be seen whether Pyongyang is ready to return to dialogue.  South Korean Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken held phone talks Friday, during which the two officials consulted on avenues of cooperation with the North, including humanitarian cooperation, and agreed to continue their efforts

Aug. 8, 2021

NK leader orders full state support for flood recovery efforts

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has ordered full state support for recovery efforts in a flood-hit eastern province as the country convened an emergency meeting of the provincial military commission to come up with recovery plans, state media reported Sunday. About 1,170 homes were destroyed or flooded, and some 5,000 residents were evacuated urgently and large tracts of farmlands were flooded as up to 307 millimeters of rain fell in the eastern South Hamgyong Province between Aug. 1-2, accordi

Aug. 8, 2021

S. Korea's foreign minister reiterates calls for N. Korea’s return to dialogue

South Korea's foreign minister has renewed calls for North Korea to return to dialogue during a regional security forum, his office said Saturday, as Seoul seeks to resume nuclear diplomacy with Pyongyang following the recent restoration of inter-Korean communication lines. Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong made the call during Friday’s virtual Association of Southeast Asian Nations Regional Forum (ARF), a rare multilateral forum involving North Korea. North Korea‘s Ambassador to In

Aug. 7, 2021

Ruling party wants bold action on N. Korea: report

South Korea’s ruling Democratic Party wants the US to endorse its initiative to rebuild ties with North Korea, the Washington Post said Friday, citing party leader Rep. Song Young-gil. Seoul is eager to pick up the momentum for diplomacy with Pyongyang by using the hotlines that the two Koreas reconnected a week ago. The North, which severed them a year ago, had reached out to the South, which sees an opportunity to resume what it calls a trust-building process to revive inter-Korean dial

Aug. 6, 2021

Unification ministry hopes for N. Korea to respond to offer for discussion on virtual conference system

The unification ministry on Thursday expressed hope that North Korea will respond to South Korea's recent offer for discussion on setting up a virtual conference system for inter-Korean talks. South Korea made a proposal to discuss the matter with North Korea days after the two Koreas restored cross-border communication lines last week that had been severed for more than a year after North Korea cut them off in protest of anti-Pyongyang leaflets sent from the South. North Korea has yet to provi

Aug. 5, 2021

N. Korea puts major rice-producing areas on high alert against flooding

North Korea has been taking flooding prevention measures in major farming areas in the country's southwest in an effort to minimize damage to grain production amid forecasts of heavy downpours, state media reported Thursday. "Emergency steps have been taken to prevent damage from flooding at cooperative fields in Jaeryong County," the Rodong Sinmun, the organ of the North's ruling party, said. "Anti-flooding efforts have been seriously undertaken basically to prevent farming area

Aug. 5, 2021

Moon urges caution in planning South Korea-US military drills

President Moon Jae-in on Wednesday instructed the defense minister to discuss the S. Korea-US military drills “carefully” by taking into consideration multiple factors, a hint the annual exercises could see some change this year. According to the presidential office, Moon told Defense Minister Suh Wook to prepare for the joint drills while looking at “factors including the pandemic.” Moon’s comment comes just a day after the country’s spy agency told la

Aug. 4, 2021

DP chief says reopening Kaesong complex will help build trust among 2 Koreas, US

South Korea's ruling party chairman suggested Wednesday reopening the long-shuttered inter-Korean industrial complex in North Korea's border town of Kaesong will help build trust among the two Koreas and the United States, and ease tension on the Korean Peninsula. "Reopening the Kaesong Industrial Complex is very critical to building trust between the US, South Korea and North Korea," Rep. Song Young-gil, head of the ruling Democratic Party (DP), said during a session of the Aspen Sec

Aug. 4, 2021

NK officials attend Russian Embassy's exhibition, resume in-person diplomacy

North Korean officials attended a photo exhibition held by the Russian Embassy in Pyongyang and highlighted their cooperative ties, state media showed Wednesday, signaling Pyongyang's resumption of in-person diplomacy suspended due to the coronavirus. The photo exhibition was held Tuesday "to mark the 20th anniversary of Chairman Kim Jong-il's historic visit to Russia and the 10th anniversary of his visit to the Siberian and the Far Eastern regions," according to the Korean Central Ne

Aug. 4, 2021

Kim Jong-un reached out first to reopen hotlines: spy agency

It was North Korean leader Kim Jong-un who first reached out to reopen the severed hotlines between the two Koreas after a hiatus of almost 14 months, according to Seoul’s spy agency on Tuesday. As for Kim’s health condition, the officials said there is no sign of abnormality, citing his light manner of walking and other gestures. His younger sister, Kim Yo-jong, also seems to maintain her No. 2 status in the regime as a top diplomatic strategist, they added. Officials of the Nat

Aug. 3, 2021